Pitino was positioned on unpaid depart by the college Wednesday. In a press release to ESPN, Pitino’s attorneys stated the coach had “in impact, been fired.” Louisville was one of many faculties linked to allegations made by the FBI on Tuesday that an Adidas worker funneled funds to 3 basketball gamers to get them to decide to sure packages that had attire offers with the sportswear firm.

“Coaches, you understand, get employed to be fired,” stated Dieng, who performed for Pitino at Louisville from 2010-thirteen, “I hoped Coach P wouldn’t be into one thing like this, however it’s what it’s.”

This is not the primary main stain on the Cardinals program. Simply two years in the past a narrative got here out that a Louisville assistant coach organized for strippers to attend events to lure recruits to the varsity. Dieng stated not one of the allegations forged a cloud over the title he gained with the Cardinals in 2013.

“It had nothing to do with profitable the title,” he stated. “Issues occur. It occurs. I am positive Coach P in all probability wasn’t conscious of it. All he taught us is to be respectful, work exhausting and being disciplined. I do not say that I used to be stunned once I see it coming, however you possibly can’t management everybody.”

Louisville was solely concerned in a single set of allegations made by the FBI on Tuesday. The opposite set indicated that assistant coaches at Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Southern California took financial bribes to direct gamers to sure brokers and monetary advisors.

It is all a nasty search for school basketball.

“I feel during the last variety of years, you might have the topic of do guys have to receives a commission? Do guys want to do that or that? Eligibility guidelines and all of this,” stated Wolves middle Cole Aldrich, who performed at Kansas from 2010-thirteen. “Now you come to seek out out some guys are getting paid beneath the desk and behind doorways and thru shoe offers and all of that stuff. … I feel everyone thinks school basketball is pure, and this has actually put a damper on it.”

Aldrich stated he has heard tales of gamers receiving improper advantages, however it’s robust to substantiate any of them.

“You by no means know who’s type of blowing smoke — ‘I acquired this,’ (and), ‘I received that.’ However I do not know,” Aldrich stated. “I’ve had loads of guys say various things. I simply type of take a look at it and stated, ‘Properly, good for you, I assume.'”

Aldrich acknowledged that Tuesday’s allegations have been in all probability simply the beginning of the criminality that will probably be uncovered.

“That is the unlucky factor,” he stated. “I do know coaches are getting concerned, I do not…